A Promise Made
by AthenaMay24
Summary: Tony did leave Pepper a voice mail from the sky as he deposited the nuke. But what if she got it at just the wrong time? A fic in Pepper's point of view detailing what might happen if Pepper actually thought Tony died in the wormhole. Pepperoney. I own nothing.
1. Prologue

**A/N So, something has bothered me every time I see The Avengers (and I've seen it enough times to randomly spout out quotes and confuse my friends). I've always thought that Tony should have at least left Pepper a message as he was flying with the nuke toward the wormhole. That's where this fic comes in. I thought, well what would happen if he did? What would he say? How would Pepper respond? This came out of those questions and some encouragement from donnag76 (who is a great Pepperoney writer if y'all haven't read any of her fanfics, you really should!). **

**So the plan I have for this story is for the prologue and the epilogue to take place after the events of the main story, so all of the real chapters are a sort of flashback. The whole thing is in Pepper's POV. I will try to update often, but I'm not sure how well that will work out. **

A Promise Made

Prologue

Pepper sighed and snuggled closer to Tony's chest. By now she'd perfected sleeping without waking up with marks on her skin from Tony's arc reactor. It had made the first few mornings awkward (well, more awkward) when she'd wake up with semicircles on her forehead or neck.

But now she could ask for nothing more than to wake in Tony's arms every morning and fall asleep in them every night. She had liked to think that she had appreciated him before, but she hadn't known how much he meant until he was gone. It made her rethink some things.

Tony murmured in his sleep and pressed a kiss into her hair before dropping off once more. What was going to happen now? Everything is going to change. Tony might try to act the same, for her sake, but New York changed them both. Tony definitely isn't the same, and Pepper doesn't think she is, either.

She lifted her hand up to brush some stray hair from her eyes, marveling at the unfamiliar weight. She let her hand fall, gently resting on the smooth face of the arc reactor next to her face, her lips quirking into a small smile. She remembered how long it had taken her to reach the level of intimacy with Tony that she could bring herself to _purposely_ touch the reactor, let alone casually touch it like this. No, maybe it wasn't New York that changed her; maybe it was Tony and their evolving relationship.

Pepper had never even dreamed of this level of intimacy with anyone, especially _Tony Stark_. But here she was, pressed up against him, completely secure in the knowledge that she was different than the others who'd been there before, that she'd get to be here tomorrow and the next day and the next. She couldn't ask for anything more, but it made her want to contemplate and figure out what exactly brought her to this state of bliss, what changed everything. So was it the Battle, or what came after?

**A/N Did that make any sense? I'm trying to follow Pepper's train of thought, but I realized it might not be clear. Please let me know if you have any questions or didn't understand anything, so I can make it better. I've already started on Ch 1, so it should be up soon. Like I said, it will be a flashback in Pepper's POV. Please review and tell me what you think! Thanks for reading! **


	2. Ch 1 A Promise Made

**A/N So sorry that it's been forever since I updated! Feel free to hate me for it, because that would mean that there are people actually invested in my story enough to care. I've just been so busy! Sorry!**

**So, this chapter is mainly straight from the movie but it's important, so please don't skip all the dialogue! Please review, also if you have any suggestions or want to just add you're two cents.**

Ch. 1: A Promise Made

"Which brings me to my next question, how does it feel to be a genius?" Tony asked, walking over to Pepper.

"Well, ha, I really wouldn't know, now would I?" Pepper teased.

"What do you mean? All this," Tony gestured around them, "came from you."

"No, all this came from that," she tapped his Reactor lightly.

"Give yourself some credit, please. Stark Tower is your baby. Give yourself . . . twelve percent of the credit." Even as Tony smiled wickedly at her, Pepper couldn't help but find his little smile endearing. Not that she could let him see that.

"_Twelve percent_?"

"An argument could be made for fifteen."

"Twelve percent of my baby?" Ok, so that might be a little offending. But she soon forgot about that. The night was going perfectly normally. Well, as normal as it gets when you're dating Tony Stark.

Pepper was relaxed, enjoying herself . . . right up until Phil Coulson had to interrupt date night with some new emergency. Tony definitely acted annoyed, and Pepper was too, she just hid it better. "Is this about the Avengers? Which I . . . I know nothing about."

Pepper knew something serious was happening when Phil didn't really respond to that, and she confirmed that suspicion when Phil didn't fire off a smart-alecky retort (as he was wont to do) when Pepper said the things she _did_ know about (i.e. Tony being volatile, self-obsessed, and difficult to get along with). When Tony called her over to look at the digital file she'd shoved into his hands, she was kind of worried. She always worried when the world needs Iron Man. Pepper tried to calm her nerves as she padded over to Tony in her bare feet.

"You know, I thought we were having a moment," Tony said when she reached him. He sounded genuinely miffed.

"I was having twelve percent of a moment," Pepper sighed, "This seems serious; Phil's pretty shaken."

"How do you know? And why is he Phil?" Was Tony really jealous_ now_, of all times?

She really didn't want to get into her relationship with the SHIELD agent at that moment, so she changed the subject and asked him about his new mission. She immediately wished she hadn't.

"I'm going to take the jet to D.C. tonight," Pepper said firmly, overwhelmed by the faces staring out at her from the holoscreens.

"Tomorrow."

"You have homework. You have a lot of homework."

"What if I didn't?" Tony asked, grasping at straws.

"If you didn't? You mean when you finish?" Tony nodded. Pepper smiled moved closer to his ear, "Well, um . . . then I guess if you're a good boy and listen to Phil and _stay safe and come back to me_, then you might just get that night you wanted in Paris two weeks ago."

Tony was the one smiling now. "Square deal. Fly safe."

Pepper smiled and kissed him, hoping that it wouldn't be the last time she did so. "Work hard."

~o0o~

"Miss Potts? Um . . . I think your phone rang? I-I think it's Mr. Stark."

"What?!" Pepper all but shrieked at the SI underling who was nervously holding her phone out to her. "Give me that!" She snatched the cell away from the woman, who quickly retreated. Pepper had been desperately watching the screen, each glimpse of red and gold giving her flutters deep in her stomach, both relief that he was still breathing and concern that he wouldn't be for much longer. But now she grabbed the phone like a life-line and pressed the button.

"Hey, uh, Pepper?" Tony's voice blasted from the tiny speakers. "Um, remember a while back when… wow, wait it was actually only a few days ago. Oh, well, remember when I promised I would be a good boy and come back? Something's come up. I—I guess I have to break my promise." She heard his shaky breath, "I'd lie and say it was some noble crap, but really I'm just proving a point. Mr. Star-Spangled said that I'd never sacrifice myself, and you know I can't let him be right. I'm sorry. I love you. Never forget—" The line went dead.

"Miss Potts?" she looked up sharply, realizing that there were tears she didn't remember crying staining her cheeks. "Look."

Pepper turned her attention back to the TV. The on-site reporter was saying something, probably summarizing the just finished battle.

Pepper was about to snap at the woman for interrupting her, when she heard what the reporter was saying. "It has been confirmed that Tony Stark's Iron Man suit has fallen from the wormhole. He was reportedly caught by the Hulk, whose outraged cries were soon heard. Tony Stark is dead."

Then, as Pepper was processing these words, the TV, phones, anything connected to JARVIS went dead. It was a complete blackout of everything Tony ever wired with his AI.

"Jarvis?" Pepper whispered, pressing buttons on J's control panel. "Jarvis?!" And then she broke down.

~o0o~

Tony is dead. Tony's dead. Tony's _dead. TonyisdeadTonyisdeadTonyisdead. _Pepper opened his eyes. She was alone. In their bed. Without Tony. She let out another sob.

After she heard the news, Pepper completely went into auto-pilot. She locked herself in the back of the plane and ordered everyone to leave her alone, not exiting the plane until she was sure the rest of them were gone. And then, everyone wanted to talk to her. Why couldn't they just leave her alone?

For the first time in forever, Pepper carried her own bags and drove herself home. Her faint hope that JARVIS just malfunctioned on the plane and car was dashed when she was met with silence as she entered the house. Tony must have programmed him to shut off when he died. Why? Why would Tony do that? But that _must_ be the answer; if JARVIS is gone then Tony must really be dead.

Pepper took a small, shaky breath and sat up in bed. All she'd been able to do the night before was throw her stuff down, strip to her underwear and throw on one of Tony's T-shirts, and collapse on the bed to cry.

She _thought_ she'd cried herself out last night. Apparently not. She _thought_ it had felt bad when Tony was kidnapped. Apparently not. She _thought_ she'd prepared for the eventuality that Iron Man wouldn't come back. Obviously not.

Pepper contemplated getting food, but she wasn't hungry. She almost forced herself to get up and at least take a shower, but that would involve taking off Tony's shirt. _Tony's shirt._ She curled up in a ball, clutching the fabric around her fingers until they turned white. She buried up her face in the pillow. Wasn't Tony's stuff supposed to still smell like him? That's how it was in every book she'd ever read. But, nope, the sheets just smelled like sheets, freshly washed. Pepper dissolved into another fit of tears.

**A/N So . . . . I know that Pepper couldn't have possibly whispered that much into Tony's ear in the amount of time in the movie, but I figured she needed to make him promise something. Please let me know if this was confusing or anything! Thanks for reading.**


	3. Ch 2 A Woman Saved

A/N So, I completely rewrote this chapter. I disliked it the way it was and I got some help from nancyozz and ArcelSkye and CrazyTrombonist251, so I think that they are more in character and less, I don't know, OOC. I hope it's better! If you've read the first version will you please read/review this version and let me know if you think it's better? All I did was cut it in half and add a bunch of stuff. But, y'all that read the first version, don't worry that special thing that happened in the end of the chapter is coming in the next one! Thanks y'all, and please let me know what you think!

Ch. 2: A Woman Saved

Pepper awoke a day later to a blinding light striking her face. She sat bolt upright, faint hope blossoming in her chest. She squinted at the figure standing in front of the window.

"Why's it so dark in here? And, ya know, you could answer the phone every once in a while. I've been calling you all day," Tony said, moving a little closer to the bed so Pepper could make out his features. His _alive_ features.

Pepper had no words. None. She just burst into tears. Again. Tony was at her side in an instant but didn't get close enough to touch her, and that little distance between them was killing her. "Pep? What's wrong?" he asked. When she didn't answer, he continued, frustrated, "Pepper, what's going on?" he demanded, "I save the freaking world and spend every available moment fixing my dang suit and don't sleep so I can come back home to you and you're holed up in our room like someone died!" He stopped, seeming to realize how harsh it sounded. "God, Pepper, I'm sorry. I didn't mean . . ."

Tony trailed off and a thought struck Pepper. Tony is alive. Why in the world is she just sitting there? Pepper grabbed her boyfriend by the shirt and practically tackled him, pushing him back onto the pillows and climbing half on top of him. He made a small umphing noise but had no time to react before she gave him a long searing kiss.

"What the hell?" Tony whispered when Pepper pulled back just far enough to breathe, gasping for air.

"I thought_ you_ were dead, Tony. I . . . I thought . . . and Jarvis was . . . And . . ." she kissed him again.

"You thought I was dead? How? Why didn't J—"

"Sir, you ordered all of my power put into fixing your suit. My systems were completely turned off, everywhere but where you were." JARVIS cut in.

"So Jarvis wasn't responding, and your nest logical thought was that I'm dead?" His lips quirked up in that little smile that drove her crazy.

"No," Pepper rolled her eyes and smiled a little, "A stupid TV reporter said you died from the fall and Jarvis wouldn't respond . . ."

"I assure you, I'm very much alive. Wanna demonstration?" Tony chuckled.

She groaned at his cliché and kissed him again, slower this time, missing the desperation and keeping the passion. Tony rolled her over so that they were side by side on the bed. His hands found the small of her back, under her shirt and hovering over the waistband of her underwear. She slipped her hands up and tangled her hands in his hair.

Eventually, Tony moaned and rolled away slightly, "Pepper, love, are you okay?"

"What?" she asked breathlessly. Her head was still reeling.

"Pepper," Tony said, exasperated, "When was the last time you ate?"

"Um—" Pepper shrugged sheepishly.

"C'mon, up you go. You have to eat something." He stood and pulled her up with him.

Pepper chuckled as Tony scooped her up in his arms and started carrying her out of the bedroom.

"What?" Tony asked in response to her glare, "You could be weak from lack of food, or something."

Pepper snorted lightly, "You just wanted me to do this. . ." She kissed his neck and buried her head in his shoulder as he carried her downstairs and sat her on the kitchen counter. "What are you cooking for me?" she asked the man leaning between her legs, looking up at her.

"Enchiladas. J, start the oven, please."

"Yes, sir."

"Pepper. . ." Tony looked at her intently. She rubbed her face angrily; annoyed at the tears that still lingered there. She didn't know exactly what Tony saw in her face but he nodded and continued, "Here's what we'll do. I'll make you enchiladas. We'll shower. Tomorrow, I'll modify Jarvis's emergency system so that you'll still be able to get ahold of him even when I need him. Then I'll call the lawyers and sue that reporter for scaring you. Sound good?"

"Um, where do eating and sleeping come in?"

"Right after I let the Hulk give me a back massage. No, but seriously, you haven't eaten and I haven't slept, so I figured it was implied."

"Uh-huh."

Pepper was skeptical of Tony's cooking ability, but she found out that she really enjoyed the way he cooked for her. Mainly because he kept coming up to where she was still perched on the counter to steal a kiss or two in between oven dings.

When the enchiladas were done, Pepper grabbed Tony's outstretched hand to hop down from the counter and join him at the table.

After she'd complimented his cooking enough to sufficiently inflate the ego of a lesser, normal man for years to come, she finally was able to ask him about New York.

That's how he told her his story, over enchiladas and while Pepper was wearing practically nothing but one of his old shirts. She cried when he told her the news about Coulson, but he broke it to her in a way she appreciated, bluntly with no beating around the bush.

Aliens? What's next? She worried enough when Iron Man fought human threats, but now there are alien ones in the mix. But that was something she didn't want to think about too much. So, as Tony led her up the stairs toward the bathroom, she tried to focus on just him and the fact that he was, in fact, very much alive.

A/N I'll end this chapter with the same question I ended the other one with. Is anyone out there in internet land interested in a companion fic about these same events from Tony's POV? I'm having a hard time keeping this one in strictly Pepper's POV and I want to tell about how Tony was able to get back to her so fast and why he needed all of Jarvis, but if no one is interested, I'll just keep the fic in my mind and not bother typing it. Anyway, for those of you interested in this fic, I thanks you and I want to remind you that there is one chapter left and an epilogue. Please review, because, as I said, this is my second attempt at writing this chapter, and I want to know if there is anything I still need to change. Thanks, and love y'all!


	4. Ch 3 A Debt Repaid

Ch. 3: A Debt Repaid

That night Pepper lay snuggled up next to Tony, tracing shapes on his chest with her fingertips. After they'd showered (Tony had 'snuck into' her shower half-way through, coming up behind her, kissing her neck, and saying, "I know you told me to wait my turn, but I couldn't resist. And I was feeling really dirty." Pepper couldn't say she was surprised in the least), they'd just slipped into pj's and into bed.

"So . . . about that night in Paris . . ." Tony said, looking down at her and running a hand through her hair.

"Tony, I thought you said you haven't slept in days," Pepper teased, rolling her eyes.

"I haven't. But I don't think you know what I had planned."

"Oh, I'm pretty sure I do," Pepper said dryly, but at his raised eyebrow, she sat up a little straighter and starting ticking off a list on her fingers, "Let's see. . . a romantic walk through the city, ending at the Eiffel Tower; um, followed by a declaration of love under the Parisian stars; and then you'd take me back to the hotel room and—"

"Nope. Wrong," Tony interrupted, "After the love declaring, I'd get down on one knee and pull out this little box," a ring box seemed to suddenly appear in Tony's hand, "and I'd say, 'Pepper Potts you're the most amazing, beautiful woman I've ever met, I want to make you happy and I want to be yours,' and then I'd pop the question and you'd be so surprised and then you'd say yes and _that's_ when we'd go back to the hotel room. Oh, and there'd be a romantic dinner before any of that. Just saying."

"Tony," Pepper said calmly, "Tell me you didn't just propose."

"Uh, you made me promise not to lie to you, so I can't do that. Oh, but I'll remind you, you already promised that I'd get that night, so you kinda have to say yes."

"I think that's tricky and underhanded . . . and incredibly sweet," Pepper wrapped her hands around his neck and pulled him close.

"Uh, hey, Pepper?" Tony said over her shoulder.

"Hmm?"

"You're kinda leaving a guy hanging here . . ."

"Well, I did already promise to say yes, didn't I?"

Tony broke into a wide smile, "You mean it? Really?"

"Yes, Tony, dear, I mean it. But, um," she pulled back from the hug to face him, "I would kind of actually like to _see_ the ring . . ."

"Right. Sorry." Tony opened the box, fumbling a bit. Inside was a simple band and stone, elegant and poised, like Pepper herself. It's high cost was only evident in the ring's making; it's band was platinum and it's stone was a diamond. Engraved on the inside in blue, that strange blue of Tony's reactor, were the words, "I do. Forever."

Pepper felt her eyes begin to fill up again, as Tony slipped the beautiful ring onto her finger. "See, you coulda had this sooner, if you'd not ditched out on the second half of our vacation just because the Board called," Tony teased, nudging her arm.

Pepper laughed, "You were just as excited about the Tower construction finishing up early as I was."

"But when was the Tower finally done? It took two whole weeks. Two weeks we could have been in Paris."

She pushed him lightly back down onto the pillows so she could snuggle up close again. "Well, when the rebuilding is done, to celebrate I'll take you to Paris. How's that sound?"

"Great. But, hey, about rebuilding, I was thinking we could add—"

"Tony," Pepper cut him off, "Sleep. Now."

"Yes, ma'am." Tony kissed his fiancée on the cheek and settled into a dreamless sleep, pressed up against his favorite woman.

**A/N: Only an epilogue left, but I've decided I will write a companion in Tony's POV, so be on the look out for that, if you're interested! Please Review!**


	5. Epilogue

**A/N Here it is, the epilogue! Sorry it took a bit. I want to thank everyone who read, reviewed, favorited or followed this story, y'all are awesome! Special thanks to (I know I already said this) donnag76 and nancyozz for their help and encouragement. Y'all are great! I'm working on the companion in Tony's POV; the tentative name is 'A Debt Unpaid'. Don't worry; there will be more Paris time in that one! **

Epilogue

Pepper pulled herself from the dream and opened her eyes, trying not to wake the man she was sprawled half on top of. She wanted to wake him up, so that he could kiss and comfort her, but she wasn't going to do that. Tony was having enough trouble sleeping himself, without her waking him up whenever she had a bad dream. The first thing she saw when she woke was her hand, ring and all, resting next to Tony's softly glowing Reactor. That sight was comforting enough.

Note to self: Don't think about things like Tony dying right before bed. It led to some nasty nightmares. So, as she tried to sleep again, she focused on all the happy moments that came after the unfortunate events surrounding New York.

The rebuilding of The Avengers-Stark Tower (she was trying to get Tony to drop 'Stark' from the name) hadn't taken as long as she'd thought it might. Then came the introductions. Can you imagine being introduced to (as Tony so aptly put it) a couple of master assassins, a demigod, a living legend, and a man with breath-taking anger-management issues? It makes for an interesting conversation. Especially when the two master assassins notice the engagement ring on your finger and some money actually changes hands. Maybe she shouldn't be surprised that Natasha had bet her archer that Tony would propose, considering her comments about honeymoons.

Even though their engagement wasn't a secret, Pepper and Tony hadn't talked about it much. Pepper had told her mom, and Tony had to stand up to her dad's wrath, but they hadn't done any planning or anything. Pepper had a feeling that Tony was waiting for her to take the reins, since Pepper was most definitely the planner of the couple. And she would take the reins . . . eventually. She wasn't in any kind of hurry. For now she was just happy spending time with Tony and _finally_ finishing that vacation.

As Pepper looked out the hotel window past Tony at the Parisian skyline, she drifted off to sleep again, pressed close to the man she loved, and wanting nothing more out of life.


End file.
